Normalization engine to manage configuration management database integrity

ABSTRACT

Data is often populated into Configuration Management Databases (CMDBs) from different sources. Because the data can come from a variety of sources, it may have inconsistencies—and may even be incomplete. A Normalization Engine (NE) may be able to automatically clean up the incoming data based on certain rules and knowledge. In one embodiment, the NE takes each Configuration Item (CI) or group of CIs that are to be normalized and applies a rule or a set of rules to see if the data may be cleaned up, and, if so, updates the CI or group of CIs accordingly. In particular, one embodiment may allow for the CI&#39;s data to be normalized by doing a look up against a Product Catalog and/or an Alias Catalog. In another embodiment, the NE architecture could be fully extensible, allowing for the creation of custom, rules-based plug-ins by users and/or third parties.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 12/685,096, filed Jan. 11, 2010, which claims priority to the U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/145,070, entitled “ANormalization Engine to Manage Configuration Management Database (CMDB)Integrity,” filed on Jan. 15, 2009, which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates generally to the field of ITIL®-based(Information Technology Infrastructure Library) Configuration ManagementDatabases (CMDBs). (ITIL is a registered trademark of The LordsCommissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury acting through The Office ofGovernment Commerce and Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency,United Kingdom.) ITIL-based CMDBs are emerging as a prominent technologyfor Enterprise Management Software.

The usefulness of these CMDBs is dependent on the quality, reliability,and security of the data stored in them. A CMDB often contains dataabout managed resources known as Configuration Items (CIs) orconfiguration objects. In general, CIs correspond to real-worldelements, components, or objects. ITIL version 3 defines a CI as: “AnyComponent that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT Service.Information about each CI is recorded in a Configuration Record withinthe Configuration Management System and is maintained throughout itsLifecycle by Configuration Management. CIs are under the control ofChange Management [systems]. CIs typically include IT Services,hardware, software, buildings, people, and formal documentation such asProcess documentation and [Service Level Agreements].”

The CMDB serves as a point of integration between various IT managementprocesses. Today, data is populated into the CMDB from differentsources, such as spreadsheets, management tools, databases—and evenmanually. Such data, as it may come from a variety of sources, may haveinconsistencies, and, in fact, could even be incomplete. Theseinconsistencies may result in at least the following problems in theCMDB: 1.) poor data quality; 2.) poor data manageability; 3.) poor dataconsistency; and 4.) the inability to “reconcile” CI's properly,resulting in duplicate CIs being stored in the CMDB. The process of“reconciliation” is described more fully in the document entitled, “BMCAtrium CMDB 7.5.00 Patch 001: Normalization and Reconciliation Guide,”which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, as well asU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/204,189, entitled, “ResourceReconciliation,” filed on Aug. 15, 2005 and U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/669,005, entitled, “Configuration Management Database ReferenceInstance,” filed on Jan. 30, 2007, which applications are also herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

What is needed to solve the aforementioned problems is a process forensuring that the representation of entities, e.g., CIs, is consistentacross the enterprise environment, regardless of the CI's data provider.This process is referred to herein as “normalization.” A NormalizationEngine (NE) may be able to “normalize” data based on certain rules andknowledge in any of the following ways: “cleaning up” the attributevalues of an incoming CI based on preferred values or rule(s); cleaningup an entire collection of CIs at one time based on a preferredconfiguration or rule(s); or cleaning up one or more relationship CIsbased on a preferred configuration or rule(s). Essentially, anyattribute or characteristic relating to an entity or collection ofentities may be compared to corresponding preferred value(s),configuration(s), or rule(s), and the appropriate remedial action taken,e.g., any inconsistencies found may either be logged in a report, outputin the form of a warning, or the CI(s) may be updated accordingly toremove the inconsistencies. This will result in data that is moremanageable, more consistent, of a higher quality, and that is able to bereconciled more effectively, along with other benefits that will becomeclear in light of the teachings of this disclosure.

SUMMARY

This disclosure relates to a field of CMDB data management referred toherein as “normalization.” As mentioned above, when multiple sourcesprovide data to a CMDB, data consistency problems such as the followingcan occur: 1.) poor quality data, e.g., inconsistent representations ofCIs or collections of CIs; and 2.) the creation of duplicate CIs afteran attempted reconciliation process. As part of an improved CMDB, andaccording to one aspect of the present invention, a Normalization Engineprovides a centralized, customizable, and uniform way to overcome dataquality and consistency problems.

In one embodiment, the NE may normalize, for example, the followingattributes for hardware and software products: name; productcategorization attributes, e.g., category, type, and item (CTI);manufacturer name; model; version number; patch; access controlinformation, or other attributes, as may be defined for each class ofCI. For example, one data provider may discover a copy of MICROSOFT®WINDOWS® Word software with a “Name” attribute of “MICROSOFT® Word 97,”whereas another provider may find the same software with a “Name”attribute of “MICROSOFT® WINDOWS® Word.” (MICROSOFT and WINDOWS areregistered trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.) An effectivenormalization of the “Name” attribute may be to change the “Name”attribute to “MICROSOFT Word” for each discovered copy of the software,resulting in no data inconsistencies or unwanted duplication after anattempted reconciliation process.

In another embodiment, the NE may normalize an entire collection of CIsat one time based on a preferred configuration or rule(s). For example,a single server may be represented by a collection of several CIs (e.g.,hardware CIs, software CIs, operating system CIs, central processingunit CIs, etc.), and the NE may want to ensure that each time such aserver configuration is encountered, each of the related CIs are modeledand represented in a consistent and/or preferred fashion.

In yet another embodiment, the NE may normalize one or more relationshipCIs based on a preferred configuration or rule(s). For instance, in themulti-CI server example discussed above, the NE may normalize each ofthe relationships relating the multiple CIs that make up the server toensure that they match a predetermined and/or preferred configurationfor that particular type of server, thus ensuring the related CIs areconnected in the same way for each instance of the server stored in theCMDB.

With a Normalization Engine according to one aspect, a user can specifyprecisely what data is to be normalized, for example: a specific subsetof the overall data; specific collections of related CIs and theirattendant relationships; a specific class of CI; or the particularattributes for a specific class of CI. Additionally, data may benormalized either before or after it is written to a data repository inthe CMDB.

In particular, one embodiment may allow for the CI's data to benormalized by doing a lookup against two or more data stores, e.g., afirst data store that has information about various hardware andsoftware products in a customer environment (e.g., product name,manufacturer name, version number, patch number, type, or item) and asecond data store that has information about aliases for product namesand manufacturer names. The “data store” may comprise storage of anyformat such as, for example, a database, a flat file, a hierarchicallyorganized file (e.g., an XML file), and the like.

In another embodiment, the NE could allow for rules-based plug-ins, thusmaking the architecture of the NE extensible. For example, certainplug-ins could allow for the creation of new rules to: clean up otherattributes in a CI (e.g., changing hostname or domain name attributesfrom lower to upper case); clean up collections of CIs in a particularmanner; or clean up relationship instances that describe how toassociate CIs of certain classes with each other. The extensibilitycould be offered through the provision of a Software Development Kit(SDK) or a suitable user interface (UI) that could allow users tospecify and implement a virtually limitless set of new rules tonormalize data in their enterprise environment as desired.

Normalizing data may allow different providers with various maturitylevels to populate CIs with different information in their own providerdata repositories—but still allow the CMDB to have the ability to cleanup the CI instances from across the various data repositories into asingle, unified resource data repository. This approach aims to ensuredata integrity and compatibility with existing and future data providersand consumers by providing the ability to normalize data before, during,or after it is entered into the CMDB.

In one embodiment, a computer system comprising a programmable controldevice can be programmed to perform a data normalization method, themethod comprising: selecting one or more CIs to be normalized; selectingone or more normalization rules from one or more knowledge bases;applying the one or more selected normalization rules to determine ifthere are any inconsistencies between the one or more selected CIs andthe one or more selected normalization rules; and, for at least one ofthe one or more selected CIs wherein there is an inconsistency betweenthe one or more selected CIs and the one or more selected normalizationrules, taking an appropriate remedial action.

In another embodiment, the instructions for carrying out the abovedescribed method are tangibly embodied on a computer useable memorymedium.

In still another embodiment, a computer network is utilized to carry outthe above described method.

In yet another embodiment, a computer system comprising a programmablecontrol device can be programmed to perform a data normalization method,the method comprising: defining selection criteria for the datanormalization method, wherein the defined selection criteria comprises:the selection of one or more classes of Configuration Item (CI); and theselection of one or more attributes from each of the one or moreselected classes of CI; selecting one or more CIs that meet the definedselection criteria; and, for at least one of the one or more selectedCIs that meet the defined selection criteria: comparing a value for atleast one of the one or more selected attributes to a correspondingspecified attribute value stored in a first data store; and replacingthe value of each compared attribute with the corresponding specifiedattribute value if the value of the compared attribute does not equalthe corresponding specified attribute value.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows, in block diagram form, an exemplary CMDB, an exemplaryNormalization Engine, and related components, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows “Inline,” “Continuous,” and “Batch” modes of normalization.

FIG. 3 shows a table of various normalization statuses and theirattendant descriptions.

FIG. 4 shows, in block diagram form, an exemplary server composed ofmultiple, related CIs.

FIG. 5A shows, in flowchart form, an exemplary normalization process.

FIG. 5B shows, in flowchart form, a specific normalization process asapplied to a Product Catalog and Alias Catalog.

FIG. 6 shows, in block diagram form, an exemplary CMDB server, anexemplary Normalization Engine, and related APIs, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary enterprise computing environment.

FIG. 8 shows, in block diagram form, an exemplary computer systemcomprising a program control device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Enhanced techniques to normalize CMDB data relating to variouscomputational resources (e.g., hardware, software, and services) from anumber of different sources are described herein. A method to normalizedata for a CMDB may include: (1) selecting data to be normalized (orconfiguring system-wide normalization guidelines); (2) specifyingwhether the data should be normalized in “inline,” i.e., real time,“continuous,” or “batch” mode; (3) defining what classes, attributes,entities, or collections of entities to normalize; and (4) adding anormalization job and defining when it should be run. The various modesthat normalization jobs may run in are presented below in connectionwith FIG. 2.

Illustrative CIs whose data and attributes may be normalized include,but are not limited to, computer systems, components of computersystems, data storage systems, switches, routers, memory, softwareapplications (both installed products and running applications),operating systems and business services (e.g., order entry or changemanagement and tracking services). The following embodiments, describedin terms of a change configuration management system, e.g., a CMDB, areillustrative only and are not to be considered limiting in any respect.

FIG. 1 illustrates, in block diagram form, an exemplary CMDB 100, anexemplary Normalization Engine 106, and related components, inaccordance with one embodiment. The CMDB 100 may potentially bepopulated with configuration items by various different discoveryprocesses 104. As different discovery processes 104 may encounter thesame object, it may be important to identify such situations, and thenreconcile the information provided by the different processes for eachobject to avoid the potential of creating duplicate objects and/or thestorage of low-quality data in the CMDB.

The discovered data may be sent to the CMDB 100, wherein Normalizationengine 106 may attempt to normalize various attributes of variousclasses of the incoming data, various configurations of CI collections,or various relationships between CIs through the aid of one or moreKnowledge Bases 112. A Knowledge Base 112, as used herein, is a genericterm to represent any repository of information that may containpredetermined and/or preferred attribute values, configurations, orrules. Knowledge Base 112 may comprise any of a number of data stores,for example: a Product Catalog, an Alias Catalog, a Rules Catalog, aRelationship Catalog, or any other source of predetermined and/orpreferred configuration information.

In one particular embodiment, the Knowledge Base 112 utilized by NE 106may comprise a Product Catalog and/or an Alias Catalog, which maycontain information about various products (both hardware and software)in a customer environment. One of the purposes of the Product Catalogmay be to define how instances are preferably represented in the CMDB100. After being normalized and stored in a data repository 110, thedata may optionally be passed to reconciliation engine 108, which caninitiate a reconciliation process according to specified reconciliationproperties and parameters, thereby attempting to identify and mergeinstances of CIs in data repository 110 within the CMDB 100 that referto the same “real world” objects. A goal of some reconciliationprocesses will be to end up with data repositories that are free fromduplicated CIs.

When the NE 106 searches the Product Catalog for information regardingthe relevant CI, it may result in one of three potential outcomes: theProduct Catalog may return a single match, in which case thecorresponding, i.e., matching, specified attribute value is applied tothe appropriate attribute of the CI; the Product Catalog may returnmultiple matches, in which case the NE 106 may reject the CI and reportan error; or the Product Catalog may return no matches, in which case,depending on the source of the data, the NE 106 may accept the CI andassign it an appropriate normalization status, as will be discussedbelow.

FIG. 2 illustrates various “modes” of normalization, including: “Inline”200, “Continuous” 202, and “Batch” 204 modes, which modes will now bediscussed in further detail. With regard to “Inline” (or “real time”)mode 200, CIs are normalized by NE 106 any time that they are created ormodified in the CMDB 100 (not shown in FIG. 2). In this mode, CIs arenormalized before they are saved in a data repository, e.g., DataRepository 110, of the CMDB 100. If a CI cannot be normalized, it may berejected, i.e., not saved in the CMDB 100, or saved but flagged with anormalization status of “not normalized,” so that it could potentiallybe reviewed further later. With regard to “Continuous” mode 202, CIs arenormalized by NE 106 after they are saved in a data repository of CMDB100. When CIs are added or changed in Continuous mode, CMDB 100 notifiesthe Normalization Engine 106, which then checks and normalizes themodified CIs appropriately. In Continuous mode, normalization may beconfigured, for example, to begin either when a specified number ofcreation and modification events occur or after a specified interval oftime. With regard to “Batch” or “Scheduled” mode 204, CIs are normalizedby NE 106 after they are saved in a data repository, e.g., DataRepository 110, of CMDB 100 based on a particularly defined schedule206. This is unlike the Continuous mode, which is based on changes toindividual CIs.

FIG. 3 shows a table 300 of various illustrative normalization statusesand their attendant descriptions. In one embodiment, each CI has aNormalization Status attribute to track the CI's stages ofnormalization. Status “Normalization Not Applicable” 302 is forsituations in which, e.g., the CI is not normalized but did not failbecause, for the CI's particular classes, normalization is notapplicable or possible. Status “Normalization Failed” 304 is forsituations in which, e.g., the CI is not normalized because no KnowledgeBase 112 entry is found for the CI. Status “Normalized and Approved” 306is for situations in which, e.g., the CI is normalized and approvedbecause the CI matched a unique entry in the Knowledge Base 112 and thematching entry is approved, i.e., authorized or allowed to be in theenterprise environment. The “approved” attribute may be provided becausesome enterprises may want the ability to detect unauthorized productsbeing used in their enterprise environment. Status “Normalized NotApproved” 308 is for situations in which, e.g., the CI is normalized butnot approved because either the CI matched a unique entry in theKnowledge Base 112 but the matching entry is not approved or the CI didnot match a Knowledge Base 112 entry and the Normalization Engine 106created a new entry for it. If a new entry is created in this manner,its “approved” attribute may be set to “FALSE,” “NO,” or some othercomparable value by default. Status “Modified After Last Normalization”310 is for situations in which, e.g., the CI has been normalized but atleast one attribute that can be normalized has been modified. With“Inline” normalization, a CI may not have this status. Typically, thenormalization process may work in the following ways: by normalizing allCIs that have a status of not normalized; or by incrementallynormalizing CIs that have been modified after normalization or after anormalization job is interrupted and has resumed. The NE may alsooptionally be instructed to re-normalize an entire data partition, ifthere is a need to do so.

In practice, complex real-world objects may commonly be modeled in CMDBsas sets of many related CIs such that the various aspects of thereal-world object may be independently monitored and/or configured asdesired. FIG. 4 illustrates, in block diagram form, an exemplary server400 that is comprised of multiple, related CIs. Potential CIs in this“exemplary server” include: an operating system (OS) CI 410, a CPU CI420, as well as hardware CI 430 and software CI 440 that may representany of a multitude of hardware and software entities comprising theserver that needs configuration management. Each of the CIs comprising acomplex, real-world object may be connected via a relationship CI 460(represented by bi-directional arrows in FIG. 4) to one or more “anchorCIs” (represented by Computer System CI 450 in FIG. 4). While an anchorCI 450 is not necessary for an object represented by multiple CIs, suchan arrangement may be a convenient way to group the related CIstogether. Relationship CIs 460 may specify various attributes and/orconfiguration information about how any two or more given CIs arerelated to each other. Just as aspects of an individual CI or acollection of CIs may be normalized by NE 106, the relationship CIs 460themselves may also be normalized according to a predetermined and/orpreferred configuration. For example, a given normalization process maycheck against the relevant Knowledge Base(s) to ensure that eachinstance of the exemplary server 400 is made up of the correct set ofCIs and that they are connected in the correct way by the appropriaterelationship CIs 460. If an inconsistency or anomaly is found in a givenserver instance, the appropriate remedial action may then be taken,e.g., the NE may either remove the inconsistency, or it may be logged asan error or warning, as will be explained further below.

FIG. 5A shows, in flowchart form, a generalized, exemplary normalizationprocess. First, the normalization process may select the current entityor collection of entities to be normalized (Step 500). The process maythen consult the appropriate Knowledge Base(s) and find the appropriatenormalization rule(s) to apply to the selected entity or collection ofentities in order to clean up, or normalize, the data as appropriate(Step 505). If inconsistencies are found between the selected entity orcollection of entities and appropriate rule(s) in the Knowledge Base(s)(Step 510), appropriate remedial action may be undertaken in one of twobasic ways. Either the process may fix the selected entity or collectionof entities according to the appropriate normalization rule and updatenormalization statuses accordingly (Step 515) and optionally make a logentry into a report file or raise a suitable warning of theinconsistencies (Step 520), or the process may solely make a log entryinto a report file or raise a suitable warning of the inconsistencies(thus skipping step 515) (Step 520). The report file may be configuredsuch that a system process, user, or administrator may later take theappropriate corrective measures, if so desired. Once the inconsistenciesare appropriately dealt with, or if no inconsistencies were found forthe current entity or collection of entities (Step 510), the process maythen check to see if there are remaining entities to be normalized (Step525). If there are remaining entities to normalize, it will repeat theprocess by selecting the next entity or collection of entities to benormalized (Step 530) and return to Step 505. If there are no furtherentities to normalize, the process may end.

FIG. 5B shows, in flowchart form, one embodiment of a specificnormalization process involving a Product Catalog and an Alias Catalog.It should be noted that the Product/Alias example described withreference to FIG. 5B is but a single usage of a Normalization Enginegiven for explanatory purposes only, and should not be taken as alimiting example in any way. First, the process shown in FIG. 5B canread in the “Name” attribute of the CI that it is attempting tonormalize, e.g., the product name or manufacturer name, and attempt toreplace it with a preferred value from the Alias Catalog (Step 550). Ifan entry is found in Alias Catalog (Step 555), the preferred value forthe particular entry will replace the current CI “Name” attribute value(Step 565). If an entry is not found in Alias Catalog (Step 555), thecurrent CI “Name” attribute value will not be changed. Next, the processcan search for a matching entry in the Product Catalog (Step 560). If anentry is found (Step 570), the process can then normalize the desiredattributes by updating them appropriately, i.e., by replacing them withthe corresponding specified attribute values in the product catalog andsetting the CI's normalization status attribute accordingly (Step 575)before moving on to process the next CI (Step 595). If an entry is notfound (Step 570), the process can check to see whether the data beingnormalized is from an authorized data source, that is, whether it is anauthoritative or “trusted” source of data (Step 580). If the data beingnormalized is not authorized, the process can set the status of thecurrent CI to “Normalization Failed” (Step 590) and then move on toprocess the next CI (Step 595). If instead, the data being normalized isfrom an authorized source, the NE 106 can create a new entry in theProduct Catalog for the current CI and set its normalization statusattribute to “Normalized Not Approved” (Step 585) and then move on toprocess the next CI (Step 595).

FIG. 6 shows, in block diagram form, an exemplary CMDB server 608, anexemplary Normalization Engine 106, and related APIs, in accordance withone embodiment. In this Normalization Engine infrastructure design, theNormalization Engine 106 is essentially a plug-in to the CMDB server608. The Normalization Engine 106 will interface with the CMDB's nativeAPI 604 and the Normalization Engine API 606. A CMDB Client application600 may allow a user or computer process to interface with and view thecontents of the CMDB. A normalization engine client 602 may allow a useror computer process to, for example: check on normalization jobstatuses; define normalization system-wide settings; selectively definedata for normalization; start normalization jobs manually; and evendefine their own logic and rules for normalization. For example, a usermay be able to define what types of classes are to be normalized(including classes native to the CMDB or user-created classes), as wellas which attributes of those classes are to be normalized. In someembodiments, the normalization configuration will not be data providerspecific because there can be contradictions between different dataprovider configurations. Other embodiments for the Normalization Engineinfrastructure design, such as using an independent server for theNormalization Engine, are also possible in accordance with the presentteachings.

As mentioned previously, the architecture of the NE could be fullyextensible, allowing for rules-based plug-ins to be authored by thirdparty providers as well as users of the CMDB. An SDK or suitable UIcould be provided giving users of the CMDB and NE the tools available tospecify both the logic and the Knowledge Bases to be used, thus allowingthem to extend the NE and normalize whatever CIs, groups of CIs,relationships, and/or specific classes and attributes they so desireaccording to whatever rule(s) they so desire.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary enterprise computing environment whereinone embodiment of the present invention may be installed. The CMDB 100may be installed and running on any one or more of the computingendpoints in communication with the network shown in FIG. 7. As shown,the enterprise computing environment may include one or more computers,for example, mainframe computer 702, which may include one or morestorage devices, e.g., file servers 704, also referred to as directaccess storage devices (DASD). A plurality of computer systems orterminals 712 may be coupled to the mainframe computer 702, wherein thecomputer systems or terminals 712 access data stored in the storagedevices, e.g., file servers 704, coupled to or part of the mainframecomputer 702.

The mainframe computer system 702 may be coupled to one or more othercomputer systems and/or computer networks, including other mainframecomputer systems. The mainframe computer system 702 may be coupledlocally to a computer system network 720 in a local area network (LAN)configuration, or may be coupled to one or more computer systems and/ornetworks through a wide area network (WAN) 722. As shown in FIG. 7, themainframe computer system 702 may be directly coupled to a local areanetwork 720, such as a PC-based or client/server based network. The LAN720 may comprise a storage device, e.g., file server 704, coupled to oneor more desktop computer systems 714, one or more portable computersystems 716 and possibly one or more computer systems or terminals 712.As also shown in FIG. 7, the mainframe computer 702 may also be coupledthrough a wide area network 722, to one or more additional local areanetworks 720, such as PC-based networks as shown. Each of the PC basednetworks may comprise one or more storage devices, e.g., file servers704 and one or more of either desktop computer systems 714 or portablecomputer systems 716. The wide area network 722 may be any of varioustypes, such as the Internet.

Each of the one or more mainframe computer systems 702, the computersystems 714 and 716, as well as storage devices, e.g., file servers 704may include various components as is standard in computer systems. Forexample, the mainframe computer system 702 may include one or moreprocessors or CPUs, preferably multiple CPUs, as well as non-volatilememory, such as is represented by elements 704, and various internalbuses, etc., as is well known in the art, as well as a display device.In a similar manner, each of the desktop computer systems 714 and/orportable computer systems 716, or other computer systems included withinthe enterprise, comprise various standard computer components includingone or more CPUs, one or more buses, memory, a power supply,non-volatile memory, and a display, such as a video monitor or LCDdisplay. The computer systems or terminals 712 may comprise standard“dumb” terminals as used with mainframes, i.e., may comprise a displayand video hardware and/or memory for displaying data on the displayprovided from the mainframe computer system 702.

The mainframe computer system 702 may store a database comprising datawhich is desired to be accessible among a portion or all of theenterprise, e.g., is desired to be accessible by one or more of thecomputer systems 714 and 716. The database stored in the mainframecomputer system 702 may be distributed among one or more of the variousstorage devices, e.g., file servers 704 connected to the variouscomputer systems 714 and 716. Thus, it is desired that the datacomprising the database be distributed among the enterprise for readyaccess among multiple users. It is also possible that multiple differentdatabase management systems are used within the enterprise, e.g., one ormore of the file servers 704 may store its own database which is desiredto be replicated among various of the other file servers and/or themainframe computer system 702.

One or more of the computer systems 702, 712, 714, and 716 preferablyinclude a memory medium on which computer programs according to theinvention may be stored. In addition, the memory medium may be locatedin a first computer in which the programs are executed, or may belocated in a second different computer which connects to the firstcomputer over a network (e.g., LAN 720 or WAN 722). In the latterinstance, the second computer provides the program instructions to thefirst computer for execution. Also, the computer systems 702/704, 712,714, and 716 may take various forms, including a personal computersystem, mainframe computer system, workstation, network appliance,Internet appliance, personal digital assistant (PDA), television systemor other device. In general, the term “computer system” can be broadlydefined to encompass any device having a processor which executesinstructions from a memory medium.

The memory medium preferably stores a software utility program orprograms for graphically displaying database record organizationcharacteristics as described herein. The software program(s) may beimplemented in any of various ways, including procedure-basedtechniques, component-based techniques, and/or object-orientedtechniques, among others. For example, the software program may beimplemented using ActiveX controls, C++ objects, Java objects, MicrosoftFoundation Classes (MFC), or other technologies or methodologies, asdesired. (ACTIVEX is a registered trademark of the MicrosoftCorporation. JAVA is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.) Acomputer system executing code and data from a memory medium comprises ameans for graphically displaying database record organization accordingto the methods and/or block diagrams described below.

Various embodiments further include receiving or storing instructionsand/or data implemented in accordance with the foregoing descriptionupon a memory medium. Suitable memory media include a memory medium asdescribed below.

Referring now to FIG. 8, an exemplary computer system 800 is shown. Oneor more exemplary computer systems 800 may be included in a mainframecomputer (e.g., Element 702 in FIG. 7). Exemplary computer system 800may comprise a programmable control device 810 which may be optionallyconnected to input 860 (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, touch screen, etc.),display 870 or program storage device (PSD) 880 (sometimes referred toas direct access storage device or DASD). Also, included with programdevice 810 is a network interface 840 for communication via a networkwith other computing and corporate infrastructure devices (See FIG. 7).Note that network interface 840 may be included within programmablecontrol device 810 or be external to programmable control device 810. Ineither case, programmable control device 810 will be communicativelycoupled to network interface 840. Also note that program storage unit880 represents any form of non-volatile storage including, but notlimited to, all forms of optical and magnetic storage elements includingsolid-state storage.

Program control device 810 may be included in a computer system and beprogrammed to perform methods in accordance with this disclosure.Program control device 810 comprises a processor unit (PU) 820,input-output (I/O) interface 850 and memory 830. Processing unit 820 mayinclude any programmable controller device including, for example,processors of an IBM mainframe (such as a quad-core z10 mainframemicroprocessor). Alternatively, in non mainframe systems, examples ofprocessing unit 820 include the Intel Core®, Pentium® and Celeron®processor families from Intel and the Cortex and ARM processor familiesfrom ARM. (INTEL CORE, PENTIUM and CELERON are registered trademarks ofthe Intel Corporation. CORTEX is a registered trademark of the ARMLimited Corporation. ARM is a registered trademark of the ARM LimitedCompany.) Memory 830 may include one or more memory modules and compriserandom access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable readonly memory (PROM), programmable read-write memory, and solid statememory. One of ordinary skill in the art will also recognize that PU 820may also include some internal memory including, for example, cachememory.

In the above detailed description, various features are occasionallygrouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments of the subjectmatter require more features than are expressly recited in each claim.

Various changes in the details of the illustrated operational methodsare possible without departing from the scope of the following claims.For instance, illustrative flow chart steps or process steps of FIGS.5A-5B may perform the identified steps in an order different from thatdisclosed here. Alternatively, some embodiments may combine theactivities described herein as being separate steps. Similarly, one ormore of the described steps may be omitted, depending upon the specificoperational environment the method is being implemented in. In addition,acts in accordance with FIGS. 5-6 may be performed by an exemplarycomputer system 800 comprising a single computer processor, a specialpurpose processor (e.g., a digital signal processor, “DSP”), a pluralityof processors coupled by a communications link or a custom designedstate machine, or other device capable of executing instructionsorganized into one or more program modules. Custom designed statemachines may be embodied in a hardware device such as an integratedcircuit including, but not limited to, application specific integratedcircuits (“ASICs”) or field programmable gate array (“FPGAs”).

Storage devices, sometimes called “memory medium” or “computer useablemedium,” that are suitable for tangibly embodying program instructionsmay include, but are not limited to: magnetic disks (fixed, floppy, andremovable) and tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and digital videodisks (“DVDs”); and semiconductor memory devices such as ElectricallyProgrammable Read-Only Memory (“EPROM”), Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory (“EEPROM”), Programmable Gate Arrays andflash devices. However, those of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that information may also be maintained as structured text,binary object data (e.g., binary data structures), HTML, XML, or otherforms of storing data.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to beillustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-describedembodiments may be used in combination with each other. Many otherembodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, bedetermined with reference to the appended claims, along with the fullscope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer program product, the computer programproduct being tangibly embodied on a non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium and comprising instructions that, when executed by atleast one processor, are configured to: communicate with one or moreresources via a network; receive, at a configuration management database(CMDB), incoming data from the one or more resources, wherein theincoming data represents a Configuration Item (CI) having an attributevalue; and normalize at least two attribute values of the CI by aprocess that changes different variations of a same attribute value to apreferred value, wherein the process includes: searching an aliascatalog for the attribute value of the CI, wherein the alias catalogcontains information for multiple products and preferred representationsof the products in the CMDB including a listing of attributes with eachattribute having one or more attribute values that each map to apreferred value with the preferred value being a same value for the oneor more attribute values, responsive to finding the attribute value ofthe CI in the alias catalog, changing the attribute value of the CI tothe preferred value in the CMDB and changing an attribute value for adifferent attribute of the CI to a preferred value for the differentattribute of the CI in the CMDB, and responsive to not finding theattribute value of the CI in the alias catalog, not changing theattribute value of the CI and determining whether or not to create anentry for the CI.
 2. The computer program product of claim 1, whereinthe one or more resources include one or more data providers includingone or more external data providers.
 3. The computer program product ofclaim 1, the instructions further comprising instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, are configured to: apply one ormore rules stored in a repository to the incoming data received from theone or more resources responsive to not finding an entry for theattribute value in the alias catalog.
 4. The computer program product ofclaim 3, wherein the rules include normalization rules, and therepository includes a knowledge base.
 5. The computer program product ofclaim 1, the instructions further comprising instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, are configured to apply anormalization rule to the attribute value of the CI to identify aninconsistency in the attribute value, and take a remedial actionresponsive to identifying the inconsistency, wherein the process ofapplying the normalization rule further comprises: selecting one or moreConfiguration Items (CIs) from the one or more resources for normalizingthrough a discovery process, selecting one or more normalization rulesfrom one or more knowledge bases, and applying the one or more selectednormalization rules to the one or more selected CIs to determine ifthere are any inconsistencies between the one or more selected CIs andthe one or more selected normalization rules.
 6. The computer programproduct of claim 5, the instructions further comprising instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one processor, are configured to:normalize the incoming data related to the one or more selected CIs fromthe one or more resources by changing attribute values in the one ormore selected CIs to preferred values using the one or more selectednormalization rules.
 7. The computer program product of claim 5, theinstructions further comprising instructions that, when executed by theat least one processor, are configured to: for at least one of the oneor more selected CIs, when the at least one inconsistency is determinedbetween the one or more selected CIs and the one or more selectednormalization rules, normalize the incoming data related to the one ormore selected CIs from the one or more resources by changing attributevalues in the one or more selected CIs to preferred values using the oneor more selected normalization rules before storing the at least one ofthe one or more selected CIs in a repository.
 8. The computer programproduct of claim 1, the instructions further comprising instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one processor, are configured to:identify one or more duplicate Configuration Items (CIs) from the one ormore resources through a discovery process.
 9. The computer programproduct of claim 1, the instructions further comprising instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one processor, are configured to:define the incoming data to normalize, the incoming data including oneor more of classes, attributes, entities, and collections of entities tonormalize.
 10. The computer program product of claim 1, the instructionsfurther comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, are configured to: store the incoming data in a repository,and change the attribute value in the CI to the preferred value beforestoring the incoming data in the repository responsive to finding anentry for the attribute value in the alias catalog.
 11. A computersystem including instructions stored on a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium and executable by at least one processor, thesystem comprising: one or more resources configured to store data; and anormalization engine configured to cause the at least one processor to:communicate with the one or more resources via a network; receive, at aconfiguration management database (CMDB), incoming data from the one ormore resources, wherein the incoming data represents a ConfigurationItem (CI) having an attribute value; and normalize at least twoattribute values of the CI by a process that changes differentvariations of a same attribute value to a preferred value, wherein theprocess includes: searching an alias catalog for the attribute value ofthe CI, wherein the alias catalog contains information for multipleproducts and preferred representations of the products in the CMDBincluding a listing of attributes with each attribute having one or moreattribute values that each map to a preferred value with the preferredvalue being a same value for the one or more attribute values,responsive to finding the attribute value of the CI in the aliascatalog, changing the attribute value of the CI to the preferred valuein the CMDB and changing an attribute value for a different attribute ofthe CI to a preferred value for the different attribute of the CI in theCMDB, and responsive to not finding the attribute value of the CI in thealias catalog, not changing the attribute value of the CI anddetermining whether or not to create an entry for the CI.
 12. The systemof claim 11, wherein the one or more resources include one or more dataproviders including one or more external data providers.
 13. The systemof claim 11, wherein the normalization engine is configured to cause theat least one processor to: apply one or more normalization rules storedin a knowledge base to the incoming data received from the one or moreresources responsive to not finding an entry for the attribute value inthe alias catalog.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein the normalizationengine is configured to cause the at least one processor to apply anormalization rule to the attribute value of the CI to identify aninconsistency in the attribute value, and take a remedial actionresponsive to identifying the inconsistency, wherein the process ofapplying the normalization rule further comprises causing the at leastone processor to: select one or more Configuration Items (CIs) from theone or more resources for normalizing through a discovery process,select one or more normalization rules from one or more knowledge bases,and apply the one or more selected normalization rules to the one ormore selected CIs to determine if there are any inconsistencies betweenthe one or more selected CIs and the one or more selected normalizationrules.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the normalization engine isconfigured to cause the at least one processor to: normalize theincoming data related to the one or more selected CIs from the one ormore resources by changing attribute values in the one or more selectedCIs to preferred values using the one or more selected normalizationrules.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the normalization engine isconfigured to cause the at least one processor to: for at least one ofthe one or more selected CIs, when the at least one inconsistency isdetermined between the one or more selected CIs and the one or moreselected normalization rules, normalize the incoming data related to theone or more selected CIs from the one or more resources by changingattribute values in the one or more selected CIs to preferred valuesusing the one or more selected normalization rules before storing the atleast one of the one or more selected CIs in a repository.
 17. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the normalization engine is furtherconfigured to cause the at least one processor to: define the incomingdata to normalize, the incoming data including one or more of classes,attributes, entities, and collections of entities to normalize.
 18. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the normalization engine is furtherconfigured to cause the at least one processor to: store the incomingdata in a repository, and change the attribute value in the CI to thepreferred value before storing the incoming data in the repositoryresponsive to finding an entry for the attribute value in the aliascatalog.
 19. A computer server comprising at least one element ofhardware, the computer server programmed with instructions to perform amethod, the method comprising: communicating with one or more resourcesvia a network; receiving, at a configuration management database (CMDB),incoming data from the one or more resources, wherein the incoming datarepresents a Configuration Item (CI) having an attribute value; andnormalizing at least two attribute values of the CI by a process thatchanges different variations of a same attribute value to a preferredvalue, wherein the process includes: searching an alias catalog for theattribute value of the CI, wherein the alias catalog containsinformation for multiple products and preferred representations of theproducts in the CMDB including a listing of attributes with eachattribute having one or more attribute values that each map to apreferred value with the preferred value being a same value for the oneor more attribute values, responsive to finding the attribute value ofthe CI in the alias catalog, changing the attribute value of the CI tothe preferred value in the CMDB and changing an attribute value for adifferent attribute of the CI to a preferred value for the differentattribute of the CI in the CMDB, and responsive to not finding theattribute value of the CI in the alias catalog, not changing theattribute value of the CI and determining whether or not to create anentry for the CI.
 20. The computer server of claim 19, wherein themethod further comprises applying a normalization rule to the attributevalue of the CI to identify an inconsistency in the attribute value, andtake a remedial action responsive to identifying the inconsistency,wherein the process of applying the normalization rule furthercomprises: selecting one or more Configuration Items (CIs) from the oneor more resources for normalizing through a discovery process, selectingone or more normalization rules from one or more knowledge bases, andapplying the one or more selected normalization rules to the one or moreselected CIs to determine if there are any inconsistencies between theone or more selected CIs and the one or more selected normalizationrules.
 21. The computer server of claim 20, wherein the method furthercomprises: normalizing the incoming data related to the one or moreselected CIs from the one or more resources by changing attribute valuesin the one or more selected CIs to preferred values using the one ormore selected normalization rules.
 22. The computer server of claim 20,wherein the method further comprises: for at least one of the one ormore selected CIs, when the at least one inconsistency is determinedbetween the one or more selected CIs and the one or more selectednormalization rules, normalizing the incoming data related to the one ormore selected CIs from the one or more resources by changing attributevalues in the one or more selected CIs to preferred values using the oneor more selected normalization rules before storing the at least one ofthe one or more selected CIs in a repository.
 23. The computer server ofclaim 19, wherein the method further comprises: storing the incomingdata in a repository, and changing the attribute value in the CI to thepreferred value before storing the incoming data in the repositoryresponsive to finding an entry for the attribute value in the aliascatalog.
 24. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein theprocess to normalize the attribute values performs the step of applyinga normalization rule prior to the step of searching an alias catalog.25. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the attribute valueof the CI is a product name, manufacturer name, version number, patchnumber, type or item.
 26. The system of claim 14, wherein the process tonormalize the attribute values performs the step of applying anormalization rule prior to the step of searching an alias catalog. 27.The system of claim 11, wherein the attribute value of the CI is aproduct name, manufacturer name, version number, patch number, type oritem.
 28. The computer server of claim 20, wherein the process tonormalize the attribute values performs the step of applying anormalization rule prior to the step of searching an alias catalog. 29.The computer server of claim 19, wherein the attribute value of the CIis a product name, manufacturer name, version number, patch number, typeor item.